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Owl box?


chrisjpainter
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On 28/11/2020 at 16:54, chrisjpainter said:

This is really useful, thank you very much everyone! Building starts tomorrow. Is there any difference between round holes and square? The materials' diameter would make a square hole easier, but if a circle's preferred I'll do that.

I think the round hole may be more forgiving on feathers.

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That's enough of all this planning nonsense. Time to get cutting. Pallet wood isn't the easiest stuff to work with. They're festooned with nails and the individual panels are often split because of them. They are also often warped from weather. Happily I got hold of two good'uns. They were also longer than some. At 120cm, I was able to just saw through the panels and not bother to remove the corner nails, just leaving the centre nails to be removed. 

The first job after nail removal was to make width as well as length, so turning these...

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into these

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Each join was given an extra long dowel and glued for extra strength. Because of the warping, they're by no means perfect, but good enough. The wide panels were then put under pressure to let the glue dry.

Once dried, I could start putting it all together. On one side, I have put an access hatch, so it can be inspected without having to use the front hole. It's angled to make it easier to remove. It will have a locking mechanism on it, once I've worked out what sort to put on!

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All fixed together it looks like this. I will fill some of the more egregious nail holes and it'll get some shed roofing stuff on it too. It'll get some plaining and sanding, as well as some kind of preserving paint over it.

piccy4.JPG.0d7430436b333ada4704351d4edf67bc.JPG

 

The final question will be whether I need to install an exercising beam, but that will depend on where it will go. It may not need it. I shall report back...

Edited by chrisjpainter
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I've given up waiting for the council to get back to me, so I've pressed on with a ratchet strap technique. The door's now got a latch on it and I've put some concave ribs on the back which should help it hug to the tree a little tighter. It'll be attached from above as well, as there's a convenient bough above it so I think it should be secure enough. @Mickeydredd do you think drainage holes in the base are needed? It will have shed roof felt on the roof, so it should be reasonably watertight and it'd stop bedding making an escape if I didn't have them, but if they're wise to have, I'll whack 'em in.

image.png.8242d9af0b40101b60f060dfc5056fb5.png

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Looking good Chris. I would put drain holes in. We used to knock them up outa all sorts. Tea chests were good, pipes, plastic barrels to. Light and don't rot. Always tried to get a box/nesting tray up if we done barn conversions. If you need any more info have a look on SOS Suffolk Owl Sanctuary site. Lot of info about birds, box's, sites etc. Not a fluffy lot and tell it as it is. Used to share a roost wood with one of them. He supplied the steel carts and had the birds to feed his. Always willing to help with advice and rescuing birds! Even over weight little owls, that pigged out on voles and got to fat to fly. . . . Needing help themselves though. Just too keep running at mo because of covid.       NB

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2 hours ago, Mickeydredd said:

Hi Chris

Unless you are not confident of your build being waterproof then I personally would not bother with the drainage holes.  If the box isnt pretty much dry inside then the owl wouldn't use it if other sites are available.  We never ever put them in.

Good luck!

It's got roof felt over the top of it and the roof slopes down, so it should be sound.

 image.png.65af2f97d63b04cde5521e34535a1f29.png 

Now to have a low wind, low rain day so I can get the thing into the tree! Meanwhile, a chap up the road had dumped this onto his skip. 'It's only going into landfill, so go for it' was his reply when I asked for it. Why do people just chuck this stuff out?! There's plenty of good wood on it to get some life out of it! I'm thinking little owl box, this time.

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1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Looks good Chris, I've got to ask though,  why were you involving the council?

Thanks! The tree it's going in has a TPO on it. Technically any work done to the tree must be agreed upon first and then performed by an accredited person. The preservation covers anything that the council might deem destructive to a tree. They're not going to care about a bluetit box that needs one small fixing point, but a big ol' owl box that would need three separate fixings with fairly sturdy bolts might be a different matter - I just don't know! So on the grounds of better safe than sorry, I contacted them first, as they love slapping fines on people who do things without consulting them, even if, as in this case, it's got an obvious intention of creating a positive impact on wildlife

They've still not got back to me, so it's going up tomorrow! It'll be secured with ratchet straps front to back and suspending paracord (200kg B/S) top to bottom, so if the council do ever get back to me, I can either take it down and no harm's been done to the tree, or replace the straps with bolts should that be acceptable. It's got to go up soon as breeding season's not that far away and they prospect for a while first. If it's up now, there's a chance it might be used as a day roost, then as a nest site come the spring.

Edited by chrisjpainter
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image.png.e4552a9855476323d7705b22ab72b2ee.png

Well, it's up! Still no word about the tpo,  but never mind. Access is good right to the hole and should be even in full summer. The hole is at 4m up, looking east. It's supported by straps that run round the whole box (One high one low) and 200kg cord from above between two boughs. I've not put an exercise beam in, as I think there are enough nearby natural ones, but I could add one should anyone think otherwise! The tit nest box is also getting shifted so that won't be an issue for either owl or tit! 

Edited by chrisjpainter
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  • 2 weeks later...
27 minutes ago, Mice! said:

It's funny since seeing this thread I've seen quite a few boxes up.

When the squirrels move in can we have a picture 😅😅

Looks good Chris, be interesting to see what moves in first.

Live or dead? ;) 

I have acquired plenty of soiled ferret bedding and have cunningly spread some soiled bedding around the opening, so it should smell pretty ferrety. I'll redo it every so often to keep it fresh and mustelidy to deter the little blighters. If that fails I have a straight line of sight...

Oh and should anyone be interested, TPO's are not a concern. The council never got back to me (kell soopreez), but returning from a fishing trip I happened on a chap doing tree surgery. The bulk of their work is on TPO'd trees and he told me it's not an issue. It doesn't count as damaging the tree and as long as you're not removing branches to do it, there's no issue.

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29 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

Oh and should anyone be interested, TPO's are not a concern. The council never got back to me (kell soopreez), but returning from a fishing trip I happened on a chap doing tree surgery. The bulk of their work is on TPO'd trees and he told me it's not an issue. It doesn't count as damaging the tree and as long as you're not removing branches to do it, there's no issue.

Well that's good news.

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